Steamed Clams Fagioli

This dish is a takeoff of the Italian peasant dish Pasta Fagioli, but steamed clams take the place of the pasta found in a traditional Fagioli. It’s loaded with the classic Italian flavors found in most Fagioli recipes and can be prepared in 30 minutes.

Fagioli has become so popular in American today that it’s widely found even in restaurants that don’t specialize in Italian cuisine. According to Wikipedia, the word for beans varies in the different Italian dialects so much that fagoli is it often pronounced differently. Pastafazoola, a song written by Van & Schenck, used the Neapolitan pronunciation for the rhyme - “Don’t be a fool, eat pasta fazool.” Whenever I hear the word fazool, it always reminds me of the line in Dean Martin’s song That’s Amore - “When the stars make you drool, just-a like a pasta fazool, that’s amore.” 

Meakin has his own way of steaming clams and that’s how we prepared them for this recipe so we would have fresh clam broth instead of having to use bottled clam broth. If you plan to use your own method to steam the clams, you’ll want to steam the clams first before you proceed with the recipe and add them at the end when you’re plating. Otherwise, just follow the recipe as written below. For a less soupy version, use the recommended ½ can of the tomatoes and beans.

We are crazy about steamed clams and thought this dish definitely fell into the “have-again” category. It is lighter and less filling than the traditional pasta fagioli and frankly we didn’t miss the pasta at all. Plus we’re always glad to welcome another 30 minute meal into our repertoire. Don’t forget the slices of a toasted baguette to sop up all of the delicious juices.

Steamed Clams Fagioli 
Adapted from Cooking Light, serves 4, can be prepared in 30 minutes
Printable Recipe

1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
2 tablespoons finely chopped celery
1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper
2 tablespoons dry white wine
1/2 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained (I used entire can)
1/3 cup fat-free, lower-sodium chicken broth
2 tablespoons clam juice
1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh parsley
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
Dash of kosher salt & freshly ground black pepper
1/2 (15.5-ounce) can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained (I used entire can)
12 littleneck clams
4 (1/2-inch-thick) slices French bread baguette (about 4 ounces), toasted

Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add garlic; sauté 1 minute, stirring frequently. Add onion and celery; sauté for 1 minute, stirring frequently. Add red pepper; cook 1 minute. Stir in wine; cook 1 minute. Stir in tomatoes; bring to a simmer. Cook 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Add broth, clam juice, parsley, oregano, salt and pepper and drained beans. Bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat & simmer 2 minutes. Add clams to pan. Cover and cook over medium-high heat 5 minutes or until clams open (be sure discard any clams whose shells don’t open.) Ladle 2/3 cup soup into 4 bowls & top each with 3 clams. Serve with slicked of toasted baguette  to mop up the broth.

For better viewing, click photos to enlarge.

This will be shared with Foodie Friday at Rattlebridge Farm, Miz Helen’s Country Kitchen Full Plate Thursday & Food on Friday at Carole's Chatter.

Have a great weekend everyone.

Easter recipes early next week. Stay tuned.

Sweet Potato and Red Lentil Bisque

This bisque has a very festive flair to me with the contrast of the bright orange soup to the green leaves of cilantro and the red pomegranate seeds. A bisque makes a perfect first course or appetizer for any holiday dinner.

I was afraid it would be a bit sweet for my taste, but the Thai red chili paste and pomegranates took care of that and gave it a nice zing. Taste it before serving and if it’s still not spicy enough, add a shot or two of Sriracha. This bisque can be made this ahead and gently heated prior to serving, or better yet, it can be frozen for up to eight weeks, making it one less thing that has to be prepared at the last minute.

For a cheery and colorful addition to your special holiday meals, give this sweet potato and red lentil bisque a try.

Sweet Potato and Red Lentil Bisque
Adapted from O, The Oprah Magazine – serves 6
Printable Recipe

1 pound sweet potatoes, peeled and roughly chopped
1 cup red lentils, picked over and rinsed
½ cup dried apricots, quartered
¼ cup chopped shallots
¼ to ½ teaspoon Thai red chili paste – I used Thai red chili sauce
4 cups chicken broth or vegetable broth
¾ cup light coconut milk
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Chopped cilantro
4 tablespoons pomegranate juice or seeds, optional but recommended
Sriracha as needed

Place sweet potatoes, lentils, apricots, onion, chili paste, and broth in a large pot. Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce to low heat, cover, and simmer until lentils are falling apart, about 25 minutes. Let soup sit, uncovered, 10 minutes.

Add coconut milk. Using a stick blender, puree soup until smooth, in batches if necessary. Stir in salt and pepper, and add more if desired. Taste and add more Thai red chili paste/sauce and/or Sriracha if desired (we did both). Divide pureed soup among bowls, top each with cilantro and pomegranate juice or seeds (if using) and serve.

Cook’s notes: Brown or green lentils can be substituted for the red but they won't fall apart as easily, so forgo the blending and serve the soup as a chunky stew instead. The bisque can be frozen for up to 8 weeks.

For better viewing, click photos to enlarge.

This will be shared with Foodie Friday at Rattlebridge Farm, Miz Helen’s Country Kitchen Full Plate Thursday, and Weekend Bites at Simple Recipes.    

Have a great weekend everyone.

Lobster Bisque

Maine lobsters are a big treat, so why not get the most out of them. After our lobster boil a couple of weeks ago, link to post here, when Meakin had live lobsters flown in from Maine, we saved some of the cooked lobster bodies so we could make lobster bisque.

Seafood bisques are smooth and creamy soups of French origin and are very rich. They are based on crustaceans and can be made from lobster, crab, shrimp, or crayfish. Bisques are perfect for special occasions, such as birthdays, anniversaries, and holidays such as Valentine’s Day.

Lobsters can be cooked especially for bisque, but left-over lobster bodies are the most practical to use and work great.  This recipe is from cookbook author & New York Times food columnist Mark Bittman and he says that if you haven’t saved the bodies from a lobster feast, they are available from fish markets, which either give them away or charge minimally. I don’t have any firsthand experience with that, but I am definitely going to look into it when we are in Florida next. Our favorite seafood market is Merrick’s in Cape Coral and they sell live Maine lobsters, so I am going to ask. I know I won’t find lobster bodies at our local market here in the mountains. Do any of you, especially those that live in the Northeast or near the ocean, know if fish markets sell or give away lobster bodies?

Our Ingles market here may not have Maine lobsters, but they make up for it by stocking French baguettes from Nancy Silverton’s Le Brea Bakery in California. Chef and baker Nancy Silverton is credited for sparking the artisan bread renaissance. Talk about a fabulous crusty baguette – ooh, la, la. You would have to travel to France to find a better baguette than the ones from La Brea.

Seafood bisque is traditionally served in a low two-handled cup on a saucer or in a mug. It is very rich and a little bit goes a long way and a crusty French baguette served alongside is a must.

Lobster Bisque
Adapted from Mark Bittman’s How to Cook Everything - serves 4
Printable Recipe

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter
1 medium onion, chopped
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 medium carrot, peeled and chopped
1 bay leaf
3 sprigs fresh thyme or 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
4 to 8 lobster bodies, cooked or uncooked, with as many other lobster shells as you can scavenge, plus coral, tomalley, and any stray bits of meat you might find*
1 cup dry white wine
1 cup cored, seeded, and chopped tomatoes (canned are fine; and don't bother to drain)
6 cups full flavored chicken stock or store bought fish stock or strained liquid reserved from boiling lobsters
1 cup heavy cream
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Minced fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves for garnish

Place 2 tablespoons of the butter in a large-deep saucepan or casserole over medium heat. When it melts, add the onion, garlic, carrot, bay leaf, and thyme and cook, stirring, until the onion softens, 5 to 10 minutes.

Add the lobster bodies and, if they are uncooked, cook, stirring, until they turn red, about 10 minutes (if they're already cooked, cook, stirring, about 5 minutes.

Add the wine and tomatoes and turn the heat to medium-high. Bring to a boil, then turn down the heat to low, cover, and cook for 10 minutes.

Add the stock, turn the heat to high, and bring back to a boil. Once again, turn the heat to low and cover; cook for 20 minutes. Remove the bay leaf and thyme sprigs. Remove the lobster shells, crack them if necessary, and pick off any meat you find. Return the bits of meat to the soup (reserve any large pieces of meat you have for the final addition below).

Pass the soup through a food mill or puree it in a blender or food processor. (You may prepare the soup in advance up to this point. Cover, refrigerate for up to 2 days, and reheat before proceeding.)Return the soup to the pot and bring to a boil. Add the remaining butter, in bits, until it melts. Add the cream and any bits of lobster meat and heat through. Season with salt and pepper, garnish with chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, and serve.

For better viewing, click on photos to enlarge.

This will be shared with Foodie Friday at Rattlebridge Farm, Miz Helen’s Country Kitchen Full Plate Thursday, and Foodie Friday at Simple Recipes.    

Have a great weekend everyone.

Spicy Coconut Shrimp Soup

This soup has a bit of spice yet a good balance of Asian flavors. Adding a big squeeze of lime juice and slivers of fresh basil just before serving always brightens a dish. It’s a wonderful way to welcome spring into your kitchen.

While ginger, fish sauce and spicy red curry paste bring the flavors to this dish, the shrimp is the real star. I encourage you to seek out wild caught shrimp, even if it has been frozen, and try to avoid foreign shrimp, which to me has a strange “off” flavor and often the texture of the shrimp is soft. It’s the quality of the shrimp that counts, not the fact that it’s been frozen.

For many years we were spoiled living near the Gulf of Mexico where some of the best shrimp in the world is harvested. I can remember buying freshly caught shrimp with their heads still on packed in lots of fresh ice from big Igloo coolers in the back of pick-up trucks on the side of the road in south Louisiana. Heads on shrimp are THE very best of the best and you can’t fake freshness when you can see their heads. We’ve now discovered that the coast of the Carolinas also has wonderful fresh caught wild shrimp. I’m not saying only buy Gulf of Mexico or Carolina shrimp or never buy frozen. What I am saying is ask your fish monger where the shrimp is from or read the label so you’ll know what you are buying. Try to avoid those bags of frozen shrimp that come from who-knows-where. Good quality seafood is not cheap, so buy the best you can find. Cheap seafood is just that, cheap.

Spicy Coconut Shrimp Soup

Adapted from Cooking Light – serves 4 

Printable recipe

3 ½ cups fat-free, low sodium chicken broth
1 cup sliced button mushrooms
¼ cup finely chopped red bell pepper
1 tablespoon light brown sugar
1 tablespoon fish sauce
½ teaspoon peeled and grated fresh ginger
¼ teaspoon red curry paste, more if you like it really spicy
1 cup light coconut milk (shake well before measuring)
1 pound large shrimp, preferably wild caught, peeled and deveined
¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro
2 tablespoons thinly sliced fresh basil
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
Slices of lime and cilantro sprigs for garnish if desired

Combine chicken broth, mushrooms, chopped red pepper, brown sugar, fish sauce, grated ginger and curry paste in a large saucepan over medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 10 minutes. Stir in coconut milk and cook for 2 minutes until hot. Add shrimp, cook for 3 minutes or until the shrimp are done. Remove the pan from the heat, stir in the cilantro, basil and lime juice, garnish if desired, and serve right away.

This will be shared with Foodie Friday at Rattlebridge Farm, Miz Helen’s Country Kitchen Full Plate Thursday, Foodie Friday at Simple Recipes, Comforts of Home Tasty Tuesday & Food on Friday at Carole's Chatter.   

For better viewing, click photos to enlarge.

Have a great weekend everyone.

Mussels Throwdown – Thai Coconut & Basil vs. French Moules a la Mariniere

I thought it might be fun to have a throwdown with mussels – Thai coconut basil mussels vs. French Moules a la Mariniere, or mussels in white wine. Mussels in white wine are a specialty of my husband Meakin and the Thai coconut basil mussels recipe is one we recently tried from Cooking Light.

Both recipes are very easy and can be put together in 30 minutes. I’m always surprised when I hear people say they think mussels are difficult to prepare and it’s just not true. Cultivated mussels can be found in most supermarkets today and no longer have beards so they don’t have to be cleaned as they once did.

In the Thai coconut mussel dish we added lemongrass for a bit more flavor, but if you can’t find lemongrass, don’t worry. It’s not absolutely necessary because the fish sauce adds a nice layer of flavor and the lime juice perks up the sauce. I find that if fresh basil is heated it turns black, so we waited until the last minute to add it. This is a very light and colorful dish and if you want to make it a bit more substantial, you can serve it with scallion rice.

Moules a la Mariniere, or mussels steamed in white wine, is a French classic bistro dish that you may remember from our archives and we serve it often. Meakin steams the mussels in a wine and chicken broth mixture, finishes them with tomatoes, cream and a dash of Pernod, an anise flavored French liquor, and dinner is served before you know it. We like to keep a bottle of Pernod on hand so we can use a splash of its citrusy anise flavor in seafood to give it a Mediterranean twist and a taste of Provence. In the south of France Pernod is sipped as an aperitif called pastis. Typically waiters bring small glasses of Pernod on a tray to your table with a pitcher of cold water for diluting the strong green liqueur, making it turn cloudy and yellow.

Pastis 

There is no doubt in our minds which of the two recipes won our vote for the throwdown – the French mussels in white wine. Moules a la Mariniere is a true classic and the flavors come together beautifully without overpowering each other. We never tire of eating it. The Thai coconut and basil mussels were light and make a nice dish to serve in the spring, but the flavors didn’t capture us in the long run and the sauce was a bit thin. We live to eat and are always trying new recipes, so no recipe ever goes to waste. But we might be just "a bit" prejudiced when it comes to the Moules a la Mariniere, so we would love to hear from you.

Coconut and Basil Steamed Mussels
Adapted from Cooking Light – serves 2
Printable recipe

2 teaspoons canola oil
¼ cup minced shallots
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 cup light coconut milk
2/3 cup water
1/3 cup low sodium, fat free chicken broth
About a 3” piece of fresh lemon grass, 1" of the root end crushed with a knife, optional
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1 teaspoon dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon fish sauce
½ to 1 teaspoon Sriracha chili sauce
24 mussels, about 1 pound, scrubbed and de-bearded if necessary
Slivered fresh basil leaves

Heat a Dutch oven over medium heat and add oil to pan, swirling to coat. Add shallots and garlic to pan and cook 2 minutes or until tender, stirring frequently to make sure neither burn. Shake the can of coconut milk well, then stir in along with the milk, water, broth, lemon grass, lime juice, sugar, fish sauce and Sriracha and bring to a boil. Add the mussels to the pan, cover and cook 5 minutes or until shells open.

Remove mussels from the pan with a slotted spoon and reserve the broth mixture. Remove lemongrass and discard. When mussels are cool enough to handle, remove most of them from their shells and save a few with shells for presentation. Throw away any mussels that did not open. Bring broth to a boil and cook for 5 minutes. Divide the mussels between 2 serving bowls. Pour 1 cup of hot broth over each serving. Sprinkle with slivered fresh basil and serve right away. Nice with crusty bread for dipping or serve with scallion rice, recipe below.

Scallion rice
Combine 1 cup water, 1/2 cup jasmine rice, 1 teaspoon butter, 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt, and 1 thinly sliced green onion in a small saucepan; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 15 minutes; remove from heat. Let stand 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork.

Mussels in white wine a la Chez Meakin - Moules a la Mariniere 
By Meakin Hoffer from My Carolina Kitchen - serves 4
Printable recipe

3 pounds of small cultivated mussels, scrubbed and debearded if necessary
1 leek
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 cups chicken broth (we like the low sodium & fat free variety)
1 cup dry white wine
1 - 14.5oz can whole tomatoes
½ cup of half & half or cream
2 capfuls of Pernod (optional)
Pinch of cayenne pepper
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
4 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley

Rinse the mussels in water, scrub and de-bead if necessary. Cut the dark green leaves off of the top of the leek and discard them. You will be left with the light green leaves and white end. Cut the roots off of the white end and discard it also. Cut the remainder of the leek in half lengthwise, rinse well under running water to remove any dirt, and shake dry. Cut each half of the leek in half again and thinly slice.

Add the olive oil to a large non-aluminum stock pot and set the heat to medium. Sauté the leek and garlic in the olive oil for 3 to 5 minutes to soften, taking care not to brown. Add the mussels in their shells, chicken broth and wine to the stock pot and stir well. Raise the heat to medium high. Cover and cook for 8 to 10 minutes, or until the mussels open. Discard any mussels that do not open.

Remove the stock pot from the heat and allow the mixture to cool. When it is sufficiently cool, carefully remove the mussels from the liquid and pick them from their shells, leaving a few in their shells for a garnish.  Discard the remaining shells.

Add the mussels back to the liquid in the stockpot along with a can of whole tomatoes which you have gently crushed with your hands along with their tomato liquid. Stir, then bring the mixture to a boil, immediately turn the heat down to medium low and let it simmer about 10 minutes. Add the half & half, Pernod if using, a good pinch of cayenne pepper and salt and pepper to taste. Let it heat through. Serve immediately in bowls with chopped fresh parsley for garnish. Accompany with slices of a crusty French baguette for dipping.

* * *

Thank you for your kind words of encouragement with regard to my physical therapy. I've had therapy several times in the past and I've just started this round. It has been more painful than I expected and I hope to have that portion of the treatment corrected by the time you read this. Thank you again for caring. It means so much to me.

This will be shared with Foodie Friday at Rattlebridge Farm, Miz Helen’s Country Kitchen Full Plate Thursday, Foodie Friday at Simple Recipes, and Comforts of Home Tasty Tuesday.

Have a great weekend everyone.

Revisiting Black-eyed Pea Soup for Good Luck for the New Year

People around the world eat certain foods on New Years that they think will bring them good luck. In the South we eat black-eyed peas. This black-eyed pea soup, link here, is fantastic served with southern-style cornbread (meaning not sweet cornbread) or crusty bread, which I've shown here.

I wish you the best of luck, good health, and much happiness in the new year.

This will be shared with Foodie Friday at Rattlebridge Farm, Miz Helen’s Country Kitchen Full Plate Thursday, and Foodie Friday at Simple Recipes.   

Happy New Year everyone.

.

Manhattan Fish Chowder – jazzed up with a little shellfish

Manhattan fish chowder is perfect for any season, but I particularly like to serve it during the transitional time of the year. I wanted something colorful and “fall-ish” to remind me that cool weather is around the corner, but I’m not quite ready for a heavy soup yet.

Fresh thyme is an absolute must in this chowder. Thyme is found in Provencal & Mediterranean cuisines and pairs well with the tomatoes. The flavors of the fresh thyme really sing in this chowder. The bacon flavor also comes through, so be careful not to choose an overly smoky bacon such as hickory. It will end up dominating the chowder. A French baguette or toasty slices of bread are perfect to dunk in the chowder.

The base of the chowder can be made in advance and held for several hours until you are ready to serve. Simply heat, add the fish and let it heat through, and you’re good to go. We’ve tossed in a few grilled shrimp and sea scallops to jazz it up a bit, but it’s equally good on its own.

Manhattan Fish Chowder – spiffed up with a shellfish garnish
Adapted from Everyday Food’s Fresh Flavor Fast – serves 6

4 slices bacon, cut crosswise into ¼” pieces (we used a mild apple wood smoked bacon)
1 large onion, peeled & finely chopped
2 medium carrots, peeled & halved lengthwise, then thinly sliced crosswise, yielding 1 cup
1 28-ounce can of whole tomatoes in juice
2 8-ounce bottles clam juice
2 medium baking potatoes, about 1 ½ pounds, peeled and cut into 1” chunks
2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves, chopped (less if you don't like thyme)
1 pound skinless tilapia fillets, or other firm white fish, such as flounder, sole or halibut
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Shellfish optional:
6 large shrimp, peeled and grilled & 3 large dry pack sea scallops, sautéed briefly on both sides in a little canola oil, then cut in half horizontally.

In a large 5-quart pot or Dutch oven, cook bacon over medium-low heat until browned and crisp, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove bacon and set aside. Spoon off and discard all but 1 tablespoon of fat. Add the onions and carrots. Cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 10 minutes. Break up the tomatoes either with your hands or with kitchen shears, then add tomatoes along with their juices, clam juice, 1 ½ cups of water, and the reserved bacon. Bring the mixture to a boil. Add the potatoes and thyme; reduce heat to simmer, and cook uncovered, until the potatoes are tender, but not falling apart, 15 to 20 minutes. At this point, the chowder can be covered for an hour or two before proceeding with the recipe.

Tilapia fillets have one thick side and one thinner side. To cut, halve the fillets along the center line before cutting them into chunks. Add the tilapia chunks to the chowder, cover, and cook until the fish is opaque and flaky, about 3 minutes. Season chowder with salt and freshly ground black pepper. With a ladle, spoon solids into six soup bowls, then add the liquid around the solids. Garnish with the shellfish if desired Serve immediately.

This will be shared with Foodie Friday at Rattlebridge Farms, Miz Helen’s Country Kitchen Full Plate Thursday, Foodie Friday at Simple Recipes, Foodtastic Friday at Not Your Ordinary Recipes, and Seasonal Sunday at the Tablescaper.

Have a great weekend everyone.

Maque Choux Soup + What does Temper have to do with Cooking

Maque choux is a wonderful soup to serve as a transition between the end of summer and the beginning of fall. We’ve had a nip in the air the last few mornings, reminding us that fall will be upon us before we know it. It’s kind of bittersweet for me, because summer has and will always be my favorite time of the year. Soon the black-eyed Susans in our perennial garden, the prolific bunches of basil in the herb garden, the fresh summer home-grown tomatoes, sweet juicy peaches, and local corn will be a distant memory, only to be replaced by local apples, pumpkins, and crisp mountain evenings. Although with all of the rain we’ve had, locals say there won’t be many pumpkins this year and the few that will be available will be pricy.

Maque choux (pronounced “mock shoe”) is a creamy, rich Cajun dish from southern Louisiana, consisting of corn, green bell peppers, tomatoes and onions and finished with a dash of hot sauce, which is considered normal for Cajun dishes. The trick to making good maque choux, is using the freshest corn available. Epicurious has a very good recipe, link here. The maque choux soup shown here is a take on the original dish.

This is a more complex dish than you might think when you first read the recipe. There is a step near the end of the recipe when you add some of the hot soup to the sour cream that requires “tempering”. Temper, or tempering, is a cooking term for what you do when you add a small amount of hot liquid to a cool liquid to prevent the cool liquid from cooking or setting. According to Linda’s Culinary Dictionary, the word temper means “to slowly bring up the temperature of a cold or room temperature ingredient by adding small amounts of a hot or boiling liquid. Adding the hot liquid gradually prevents the cool ingredient (such as the sour cream in this recipe) from cooking or setting.” Tempering is often called for in sauce making when you incorporate raw eggs into a hot dish.

To give this soup more of a chucky texture, the first batch of corn is blended and the second batch is not. To process the first batch, I’ve used a hand-held immersion blender, which is a great kitchen tool. A blender or a food processor will both work just fine.

Maque Choux Soup
Adapted from Southern Living – makes 6 cups

3 cups fresh corn kernels (about 6 ears)
1 medium-size orange bell pepper, chopped
Olive oil
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
4 cups of chicken broth, divided into 2 cups each
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup sour cream
3 tablespoons plain white cornmeal
Few dashes of Tabasco, or other hot sauce
Fresh squeezed lime juice to taste
Toppings: cooked bacon, fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves, fresh lime juice, and a few cooked corn kernels

Stir together the corn and peppers. Place a large cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat until hot. Add a little olive oil to the skillet and cooking in two batches, add half of the corn & pepper mixture. Cook, stirring constantly, about 4 minutes or until the vegetables begin to char. Transfer the first batch to a 4-qt saucepan.

Add remaining corn & pepper mixture to the skillet. Cook, stirring constantly, about 4 minutes or until vegetables begin to char. Stir in cumin and coriander, and cook, stirring constantly, 2 or 3 more minutes or until fragrant. Set aside the second batch, but save a few of the nicely charred corn kernels for a garnish.

Add 2 cups of broth to the corn mixture in the saucepan. Stir, then process with a handheld blender for 1 to 2 minutes, or until smooth. Add the second batch of the corn mixture and the remaining 2 cups of broth to the saucepan. Bring to a light boil over medium heat, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring often, 5 minutes. Add salt, pepper, hot sauce, and lime juice to taste.

In a heatproof bowl, whisk together the sour cream and cornmeal, then whisk in 1/2 cup of the hot soup (this is called tempering). Then add that mixture to hot soup and simmer, stirring occasionally for 5 minutes, or until thickened. Garnish and serve right away.

Printable recipe 

This will be shared with Foodie Friday at Rattlebridge Farms, Miz Helen’s Country Kitchen Full Plate Thursday, Foodie Friday at Simple Recipes, Foodtastic Friday at Not Your Ordinary Recipes, and Seasonal Sunday at the Tablescaper.

Have a great weekend everyone. 

Happy Labor Day to those who live in the States.

Celebrating Lilly Pulitzer’s Colorful Life with her Latino Shrimp and Corn Bisque

Today I’m celebrating the colorful life of Lilly Pulitzer with her recipe for Latino Shrimp and Corn Bisque. As you may know, Lilly died earlier this month at the age of 81 at her home in Palm Beach.

Lilly Pulitzer’s name is synonymous with Palm Beach and her famous colorful summer shift dress. Her life was filled with color and fun and it all started with an orange juice stand. When Lilly was 21 she eloped with Peter Pulitzer from New York City to the sun and sand of Palm Beach where Peter owned orange groves. In the shadows of Peter’s groves in 1959-ish, Lilly opened a juice stand. An heiress herself who married young into the wealthy publishing family, she designed a sleeveless shift dress from colorful printed cotton to disguise the juice stains on her clothing and Lilly Pulitzer the clothing label was born.

Source & Shop

Lilly’s classic shift dress shot to fame when her old schoolmate from Miss Porter’s school, First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy, was photographed wearing a “Lilly” while on vacation. Rose Kennedy, Jackie’s mother-in-law, also had her own beloved “Lilly” shift. After the First Lady appeared on the cover of Life magazine in 1962 wearing a “Lilly” shift dress, the brand’s popularity took off “like zingo.”  To quote her obituary in the New York Times, “Lilly Pulitzer created a look that proved to be so popular it would become a mark of membership for old-money families at play for more than five decades. Her vividly flowered house dresses became known, in the shorthand of the rich, simply as Lilly’s.”

Source

As a matter of fact, I have a couple of Lilly’s in my own wardrobe. For the ladies, let me share a little warm weather secret - shifts are so much cooler and more comfortable to wear than shorts when it’s hot. I consider them to be a staple in my summer wardrobe and believe me when I tell you I know hot because we lived in the tropics for years. Several of my favorite Lilly styles are on my Pinterest board “Fashion Looks I Love.”

Lilly is almost as well-known for her entertaining and food as she is for her fashion. She had a knack for turning the art of living well into a kind of informal elegance with an attitude of “affluence at ease.” Parties, decorating, food, and fashion have been part of her life in Palm Beach since she arrived there in the 1950’s. And she shares this in both of the delightful books, Essentially Lilly – A Guide to Colorful Entertaining and Essentially Lilly – a Guide to Colorful Holidays. Follow Lilly as she shows us how to incorporate her unique Palm Beach easy-tropical-style-of-entertaining into our daily lives all the while the celebrating the good times with our own family and friends with Lilly’s yummy-good food.  Lilly’s recipe for Latino Shrimp and Corn Bisque is the recipe I’ve chosen today to celebrate her colorful life. The original recipe did not call for mussels or oysters. They are our addition and may be left out if you wish to authenticate Lilly’s original bisque. I’ve shown pictures of both ways.

Lilly Pulitzer’s Latino Shrimp and Corn Bisque with Mussels & Oysters
Adapted from Essentially Lilly – a Guide to Colorful Holidays – serves 8 as a first course or 4 for a light lunch with a salad

1 ½ pounds medium sized (26 to 30 count) shrimp with shells, preferably wild caught
3 cups bottled clam juice
2 sprigs fresh flat-leaf parsley
1/8 teaspoon dried thyme
1/8 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
5 tablespoons (1/2 stick plus 1 tablespoon) unsalted butter
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 small rib of celery with leaves, finely chopped
½ cup diced chopped red bell pepper
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
Dash of Tabasco or other hot sauce
¼ cup dry sherry
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 ½ cups fresh or frozen corn kernels
1/2 cup heavy cream, plus additional for garnish if desired
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
8 to 12 freshly shucked oysters, optional
12 – 16 cleaned mussels, optional
Chopped fresh cilantro for garnish

Peel and devein shrimp, reserving their shells. Coarsely chop some of the shrimp. Cover and refrigerate. Bring the shrimp shells to a boil in one quart of water over high heat along with the clam juice, parsley, thyme and peppercorns. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 30 minutes to blend their flavors. Strain and reserve their liquid.

Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium-low heat. Add onion, celery, red pepper and garlic, then cover and cook until the vegetables soften, about 3 minutes. Sprinkle the mixture with flour and stir well to incorporate. Whisk in the reserved shrimp shell liquid, a dash of Tabasco sauce, sherry and tomato paste. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, then reduce heat to low and cook until lightly thickened, about 3 minutes.

The soup may be prepared up to this point 1 day ahead and then cooled, covered and refrigerated. Reheat to simmering over low heat. Stir in reserved shrimp, corn, oysters, mussels and heavy cream and cook just until the shrimp turn opaque and mussels open, about 3 minutes. Discard any mussels that do not open, then season to taste with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. To serve, ladle the soup into bowls and top with a drizzle of extra cream if desired. Sprinkle with the cilantro and serve hot.

This will be shared with Foodie Friday at Rattlebridge Farms, Miz Helen’s Country Kitchen Full Plate Thursday, Foodie Friday at Simple Recipes, Foodtastic Friday at Not Your Ordinary Recipes, Seasonal Sunday at the Tablescaper, and On the Menu Monday at Stone Gable.

Have a great weekend everyone.

Split Pea Soup Flavored with Ham and Rosemary + secrets to making a great soup

For some people, soup is reserved for fall and winter. Not us. We eat soup year-around and enjoy it no matter what the weather or the season. It’s been rather warm this week and a couple of days the high was in the low eighties. You would think it was April rather than January. This guy was sitting on the top of our car yesterday in Naples and sends his greeting from the Gulf coast of southwest Florida. Someone joked that maybe he was tired and wanted a catch a ride.

One of our all time favorite soups, and one of the easiest to make, is split pea soup. In fact I posted it a couple of years ago, link here. But today my split pea soup is a little different because I have a left-over ham bone from a baked ham that I want to use. Basically you just add the ham bone to the liquid of the split pea soup while it cooks. However, the ham bone will add more fat to the soup than I want, so I plan to skim to fat from the top of the soup. To do that I’m going to let the soup sit overnight in the refrigerator after it’s cooled from cooking and skim the fat from the top the next day. For a vegetarian soup, leave out the ham entirely and substitute vegetable broth for the beef broth called for in the list of ingredients.

Before we get to the recipe, I want to share a couple of secrets to making a rich and flavorful soup. The first is sautéing the vegetables until they lightly browned. My mother used to throw the vegetables in without browning them first. While there’s nothing wrong with that, and it does save some time, if you brown the vegetables first your soup will have a much richer flavor. Here’s what I do. I start sautéing the vegetables on high heat, then quickly switch to low, season with salt and pepper, and cook them slowly until they are nice and brown, taking care that they not burn.

The second secret is to add the herbs and a little bit of tomato paste to the vegetables at the end of the browning stage to let them flavor the vegetables at that stage. The tomato paste brings an incredible amount of flavor to the mixture and it’s nice for the herbs to sauté a minute or two to incorporate them with the vegetables.

Split Pea Soup Flavored with Ham and Rosemary
From My Carolina Kitchen and inspired from Cooking Light – serves 4 

12-oz package of green split peas
6 cups liquid (I use 4 cups of low sodium, low fat beef broth & 2 cups of water)
1 bay leaf
1 ham bone, trimmed of excess fat
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
2 whole carrots, scraped & diced
2 small cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1 teaspoon dried thyme
2 teaspoons fresh rosemary, chopped
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon sweet Hungarian paprika
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce

Seasonings added before serving:
1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary
4 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Sour cream for garnish

Combine the peas, liquid, and ham bone in a large stockpot, cover, bring to a boil. When the mixture boils, turn to low and cook for 45 minutes to an hour, checking at 45 minutes for doneness.

In the meantime add the olive oil to a nonstick skillet over high heat. Start the vegetables off on high and quickly turn heat to very low, stirring very frequently. Sauté the vegetables until they are well softened and have taken on a slightly golden hue. Add thyme, rosemary, salt, pepper, and garlic and stir to cook for a moment. Add tomato paste, stir well, and cook a couple of minutes more to incorporate the tomato paste. Add soy sauce & cook until the liquid evaporates.

Add vegetables to the peas along with the bay leaf.  Peas should be done in about 45 minutes to an hour. Remove and discard bay leaf and the ham bone. Taste and season the soup with salt and pepper and add more liquid if necessary. Cover the soup and when it is cool, transfer to the refrigerator overnight.

The next day remove the layer of fat that has formed over the soup overnight and discard. At this point heat the soup up, then puree it with a  wand mixer (or use a blender) or puree half and leave the remaining half of the soup chunky. Serve right away, or cool and store in the refrigerator, covered, for 2 to 3 days.

Before serving soup, combine the last minute seasonings in a small bowl and stir into the soup. Spoon soup into serving bowls and top with about a tablespoon or so of sour cream.

Printable recipe

Or not.

This will be shared with Foodie Friday at Rattlebridge Farms, Miz Helen’s Country Kitchen Full Plate Thursday, Foodie Friday at Simple Recipes, Foodtastic Friday at Not Your Ordinary Recipes, Seasonal Sunday at the Tablescaper, The Chicken Chick, and On the Menu Monday at Stone Gable.

Have a great weekend everyone.

Black-Eyed Pea Soup – good luck food for the New Year

All around the world people eat certain foods on New Years that they believe will bring them good luck for the new year. I grew up in the Deep South and we believed that certain food was black-eyed peas. The peas look like little coins when cooked, so they are thought to symbolize wealth. They also swell when cooked, another sign of prosperity.

I alternate between serving black-eyed pea soup and southern caviar for New Years. Today I’ve chosen black-eyed pea soup because a little cold front has dipped its way south and there’s a bit of a chill in Florida. This soup is fantastic with southern style cornbread (meaning not the sweet cornbread), crusty bread, or an old appetizer favorite of ours - sausage cheese balls. Sausage cheese balls have been around for a long time, are very easy to make, and men go crazy for them. Make a lot because they go fast. My friend Lynn at Happier than a Pig in Mud’s recipe is very similar to mine and here’s a link to her recipe. To serve the soup to a crowd, I use coffee mugs in lieu of bowls and pass the sausage cheese balls separately.

Southern “caviar,” also known as Texas or Longhorn caviar, is made using black-eyed peas rather than fish eggs. It’s a spicy, very colorful salad with black-eyed peas, tomatoes, hot peppers, and southwestern spices that can be used as a dip with chips. If you are a frequent reader, you might remember my recipe, link here.

We rarely go out to a restaurant for New Year Eve and chose to either entertain at home or go to a friend’s house nearby. This year we’ll join friends at our condo’s pool house late in the evening for a little get-together, drink some champagne, and watch the fireworks in downtown from our view across the Caloosahatchee River. Everyone brings something to share and I’m planning on taking a big bowl of my southern caviar, or if it’s cool, this black-eyed pea soup.

What are your plans for New Years Eve? Do you go out? Or do you entertain at home? Or do you do what we’ve done occasionally, which is to share a bottle of champagne and ring in the New Year at home all by ourselves.

Black-Eyed Pea Soup
From My Carolina Kitchen – serves 6

12 oz package black-eyed peas
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
1 cup celery, finely chopped
2 peeled carrots, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon dried thyme or herbs de Provence
1 tablespoon tomato paste - see cook's notes
8 oz tomato sauce
2 bay leaves
7 cups water, or a combination of low sodium, low fat beef broth and water - see cook's notes
Worcestershire sauce, optional
Sour cream for garnish
Optional other garnishes include chopped green scallions, small chunks of sautéed ham, chopped cilantro, seeded & chopped jalapeno peppers

Soak peas overnight in a large stock pot with plenty of water to cover. Drain, rinse, and put back into the stock pot with the beef broth, tomato sauce, and bay leaves and bring to a boil.

While the peas are coming to a boil, sauté the vegetables and garlic in 1 tablespoon of olive in a non-stick skillet until softened and beginning to caramelize. Stir frequently. When browned, sprinkle with a little salt and freshly ground black pepper and add the dried herbs and stir. Then add the tablespoon of tomato paste, stir to incorporate it into the vegetables, and let it brown a moment or two, then add the sautéed vegetables to the peas.

When peas come to a boil, simmer, partially covered, until peas are tender, about 40 to 50 minutes. Add more liquid if necessary. Before serving, taste for salt, add if necessary, and discard bay leaves. If you want a touch more flavor, add a few dashes of Worcestershire sauce. Garnish as desired.

Cook's notes: The tomato paste is used to further caramelize the vegetables and the paste should brown a little. For a less “soupy” soup, try 6 cups of liquid and add more liquid if needed.

Printable recipe

This will be shared with Foodie Friday at Rattlebridge Farms, Miz Helen’s Country Kitchen Full Plate Thursday, Foodie Friday at Simple Recipes, Foodtastic Friday at Not Your Ordinary Recipes, Seasonal Sunday at the Tablescaper, and On the Menu Monday at Stone Gable.

Meakin and I wish you and your family a very happy and healthy 2013.  

See you next year. 

Pumpkin Black Bean Soup Caribbean Style

This Caribbean inspired recipe marries the flavors of pumpkin, black beans, tomatoes, ham, and sherry to create a very flavorful soup. For a festive and elegant soup tureen, present in a carved out pumpkin shell. Here’s a link to how to prepare a pumpkin shell.

I’ve sautéed the ham to give it more of a smoky flavor, but if you’re in a hurry you could skip that step. For a vegetarian version, omit the ham completely and substitute vegetable stock for the chicken stock.

If you wish to cook the beans from scratch, you’ll need 3 cups of dried beans. I find canned black beans perfectly acceptable drained and well rinsed. In fact if your store doesn’t have a good turn over in their dried black beans, chances are that they are old and will take a long time to cook.

The recipe calls for sherry vinegar. I love sherry vinegar and always have a bottle on my shelf. It’s wonderful tossed with equal parts walnut oil and a neutral tasting oil such as grape seed oil to make a fantastic robust vinaigrette for green salads garnished with toasted walnuts. Recently I posted a rather fancy French arugula salad tossed in a sherry and truffle oil vinaigrette – link here. My French lentil salad also uses sherry vinegar – link here.

The brand of sherry vinegar that I use is Columela from Spain. It’s aged for 30 years in oak barrels (just like wine) and is made from the same grapes that are used to produce Spain’s famous sherries. Fresh Market stocks it in the states as well as Sur la Table, but it’s also available on line from Amazon. In a pinch you could substitute either a good red wine vinegar or champagne vinegar. Balsamic vinegar would be too sweet. Some people say you can use rice wine vinegar, unflavored of course. Personally we use sherry vinegar often enough to warrant having a bottle on hand and it doesn’t seem to go bad, probably because it’s aged.

You could serve this soup now through Thanksgiving or as a first course for an island inspired menu any time during the year. Or perhaps after a chilly Halloween night out on the town. The last minute addition of sherry linds an air of mystery to the soup. Garnish if desired with a dollop of sour cream and sprinkle with pepitas (pumpkin seeds). Served with a little glass of Spanish sherry, it’s positively magical.

Pumpkin Black Bean Soup Caribbean Style
Adapted from Soup for Every Body by Joanna Pruess – serves 6

2 (15 ounce) cans black beans, drained & rinsed
1 cup diced canned tomatoes
1 cup canned pumpkin (not to be confused with pumpkin pie mix)
2 ½ to 3 cups chicken or vegetable stock
2 tablespoons olive oil
8 ounces precooked ham, chopped into small cubes
1 ½ cups finely chopped onion
3 large cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon ground cumin
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 tablespoons sherry vinegar
½ cup dry sherry (do not use cooking sherry, it's awful)
Garnish with sour cream (low fat if you like) or plain yogurt and toasted pepitas (pumpkin seeds)

Combine the beans and tomatoes in a food processor fitted with a metal blade and pulse until the beans have started to smooth out, but are still somewhat chunky. Place in a soup pot, then add the pumpkin and 2 ½ cups of stock. Stir to combine and set aside.

Heat the olive oil in a non-stick skillet over medium heat. Add the ham and onions and sauté until lightly colored, about 8 to 10 minutes. Add the garlic and cumin and stir for 30 seconds more. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Add the sautéed vegetables to the soup pot containing the beans and tomatoes. Stir in the sherry vinegar. Bring the soup to a boil, then reduce the heat, and stir occasionally to keep soup from sticking to the bottom of the pot, about 15 to 20 minutes. Stir in the sherry and heat through.  Taste for seasonings and adjust as necessary. Add remaining stock if soup seems too thick.

Serve in bowls topped with a dollop of sour cream or yogurt if desired and sprinkle with pumpkin seeds for a garnish.

Printable recipe

This will be shared with Foodie Friday at Rattlebridge Farms, Miz Helen’s Country Kitchen Full Plate Thursday, It's Fall Y'all at Love Bakes Good Cakes, Food on Friday at Carole's Chatter, Foodie Friday at Simple Recipes, Foodtastic Friday at Not Your Ordinary Recipes, Pink Saturday at How Sweet the Sound, Seasonal Sunday at the Tablescaper, and On the Menu Monday at Stone Gable.

* * *

On a separate note, my salad with fresh cherries, goat cheese & pistachios was featured in Daily Foodbuzz’s Top 9 recipes using goat cheese. Thanks Daily Foodbuzz. Here’s a link to the article.

Have a great weekend everyone.